That's right. Turkey Day.
It was a bit crazy. The girls decided to get sick, I was way behind on cooking and cleaning, I didn't get to shower beforehand, we ate an hour later than planned and we skipped making the green salad and dessert. Well, my mother in law brought what was, I'm sure, a delicous Marie Calendar's apple pie. But I didn't partake. No time. And also, I'm a pie snob. It's true. Thank my wonderful mother who is the queen of all things pie. There is usually a pie-per-person ratio back home, and while my tastebuds are realllllly missing that this year, my waistline is saying, "oh thank goodness!"
Another thing I deeply miss this year is my family. I can't remember for sure the last Thanksgiving I had with them---maybe 4 years ago? It's just not as fun cooking and getting ready for the day alone. Tony was helping out a lot, but he was also helping watch the girls and clean up where I hadn't yet. And his back still gives him a lot of trouble so he had to rest every now and then. I was super grateful my mother in law made the stuffing, prosciutto wrapped asparagus and fresh fruit salad, or else we might not have had those things either!! And Tony's family is so great. I enjoy the time spent with them. I just miss my own family, too.
I tried three new recipes this year---I made the traditional green bean casserole that I love, but I made it with fresh beans instead of canned. REALLY good. I recommend it to everyone. It's soooo much less mushy. The true test will be to see how mushy it is when I have the leftovers for lunch! :) The second recipe I tried was a Sweet Potato Gratin. You layer thin sliced rounds of sweet potato with a little salt, pepper, cinnamon and brown sugar in a round baking dish. Repeat however many times you wish. Then pour cream (I used half and half to cut the fat a little tiny bit) until it's halfway up the potato layers and bake. In the future I will probably cover it, because the top got a little too crunchy for me. But maybe some people like it crunchy. To remedy that, I put a tiny bit of butter on top. Softened it right up! It was pretty good, but unless there are lots of people to eat it, you will have tons of leftovers. And I really only like sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving day. But I'll give leftovers a shot. It might be good cold with a little whipped cream on top. Sorry if that grosses some of you out (my husband is one who will be). the third recipe I tried was a Cranberry Pinapple Relish. It turned out really nice and refreshing. I actually ended up cooking about half of it so part of it would be a little more traditional, since the other half is just raw cranberries. Both were good and different. Personally, I liked the cooked version. Tony liked the raw. But it was fun to try something new! Next year I'm doing a warm Cranberry Grape compote. Yum.
I didn't get to do the whole tablescape I wanted to either, but it still worked out well. I don't think there would have been room to do what I wanted, anyway. It was fun to "break in" our "new" dining room with a big Thanksgiving meal. Such an appropriate "first" use! I couldn't have been more excited. I planned on using the china as well, but I ran out of time to wipe the dust off of them. Oh well. Someday I will actually "decorate" the dining room. it looks so bare without window coverings and blank walls. But the wallpaper and ceiling do plenty of talking on their own. I just haven't figured out quite what will go well with them yet. But I will!
{{In case you are wondering about all of the " " marks, let me explain---in case you don't remember. Our "new" house is actually the house Tony grew up in. And since we began dating, all but one Thanksgiving I think, has taken place right here (and of course all of Tony and his sister's Thanksgivings ). So, this was the first year of it being remodeled and pretty much like a "new" house. It was sort of surreal to think about the old Thanksgivings spent here. And I'm sure even more surreal for Tony and his family. I hope it was still as great for everyone else as in years past.}}
Everything was wonderful just how it was and I truly enjoyed our "first" Thanksgiving in our new home. I was honored to host!
Here are just a couple photos of the table and dining room. I wish I would have taken more up close and of the food, but I just ran out of time. We were literally sitting down at the table as I was hurridly taking them.
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